Online shopping has been rising across all demographics, but it has gained particular traction among millennials. This shouldn't be particularly surprising - members of this generation grew up with the internet and have been early adopters of technology like smartphones and tablets. However, surprising or not, it is essential for online retailers to attract millennials, as this demographic will only become a larger part of the online marketplace in the coming years.

With this in mind, it is clear that companies of all sizes and types need to have a strong plan in place to make their online shopping offerings as attractive to millennials as possible. In general, this comes down to improving performance in two key areas: targeted marketing and social-integrated websites.

Marketing
It is hard to build a strong customer base without creative and effective marketing initiatives, and this is particularly true with regard to millennials, who spend a lot of time consuming media online. However, millennials respond to ads differently than their older counterparts, so it is important to tailor your marketing to this demographic if you want to attract more millennials.

One way to do so is to emphasize competitive pricing and special deals. A great deal of millennials are un-employed or under-employed, which means that attractive pricing and special offers are important to them. Using social media outlets to spread the word about new deals and low prices is a great way to attract younger consumers.

Social-integrated websites
In addition to being thrifty shoppers, millennials are also generally much more tech-savvy than their older counterparts, so they expect feature-rich eCommerce experiences that provide the information and resources they want. Of course, this means having an attractive and well-designed website, but it goes well beyond that. According to 7x7, millennials want websites that incorporate social media elements and reviews from people they know and trust.

According to the source, 70 percent of millennials said they decide where to shop at least partially based on their friends' recommendations (only 45 percent of members of other generations said the same thing). Similarly, more than half of millennials reported researching brands through social channels.

Integrating your eCommerce website with social media channels might seem like a difficult task, but it is essential if you want to increase your market share among millennials. Using an eCommerce platform that offers a robust web-builder engine that allows you to leverage Facebook and Twitter integrations to unify your social media efforts will help you marry social media and online retailing to take advantage of one of the most effective ways to reach the younger generation of consumers.